


НЕЗАМЕТНО - INCONSPICUOUS

by Malkinmecrazy8771



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: M/M, OR IS HE, clueless Sid is clueless, coffee shop AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-21
Updated: 2017-12-21
Packaged: 2019-02-18 00:21:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13088511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Malkinmecrazy8771/pseuds/Malkinmecrazy8771
Summary: Geno works at a typical college coffee shop, and usually, his life is pretty dull, but he can spice things up a bit by writing notes to cute customers on the lids of their drinks. Of course, the spicing up part only works if they notice the notes, and Geno's certainly not gonna fall all over himself trying to get this new hot guy to notice him...well...okay, not really...





	НЕЗАМЕТНО - INCONSPICUOUS

 

So believe it or not, this is my first Coffeeshop au…please be gentle with me))

 ~~Also, the working title of this work was “If You Liked it, then You Should Have Put a Lid on it”. I just wanted you all to know that~~.

\- - - _/.\\_ - - -

Evgeni Malkin did all he could do not to sigh exasperatedly out loud as the lady on the other side of the counter changed her order. Again.

It wouldn’t really have bothered him that much, except this was finals week, and there was a long line of customers waiting behind her, and she was honestly being a little bit condescending. Geno (as Evgeni’s co-workers called him) tried not to look too impatient as he stared at her, but he was probably failing. Fortunately (or maybe unfortunately, he couldn’t decide), she didn’t seem to notice.

“No, actually, could you  _scratch_  the last thing I said? I  _actually_  want a venti caramel latte with whipped cream on top, and soy milk  _AND_  half-and-half inside; steamed! Oh, and add chocolate, amaretto, and a spritz of vanilla to that. I already  _know_  it costs extra, you  _don’t_  have to explain that to me…oh! And a blueberry muffin! I want it cut in half, buttered, and warmed up in the oven. And my name is  _Katelyn_ , ok? K-A-T-E-L-Y-N, Katelyn.  _Please_  spell it right, it is  _not_  that hard.”

 _Working here will help you learn English_ , they said.  _It’ll be FUN_ , they said. They must have elected not to mention all the super-demanding, indecisive suburban American white ladies living near the university.

Geno didn’t smile as he took her order (praying to god that he got it right on the receipt and that Flower had been paying attention while she was changing her order six zillion times). The cafe owner had told him that “wearing his Russian face” wouldn’t make customers want to come back, but fuck the rules, he was  _done_  with this lady. 

He spelt her name wrong on purpose, making Flower fight back a laugh as he took the cup from him. 

“You get the muffin, G. I heard her,” Flower said, winking at Geno. As he walked away, Geno heard him muttering, “Pssh,  _venti_...what the fuck does she think we are,  _Starbucks_?”

“You best, Flower, thank you,” Geno said, glad that Flower made work at least tolerable. He grabbed a muffin, cutting the top off, and stuffing both pieces into the toaster behind him. 

“Hello, welcome, I’m sorry for make you wai—”

Geno stopped short as he turned to the next customer, suddenly completely and totally incapable of thinking in English.

Behind the counter was an athletic-looking man with dark, curly hair, sharp cheekbones and a strong jawline. He was dressed simply, in relaxed-fit jeans (which fit his thick, muscular backside quite nicely), and a golden chain could be seen glinting from just under the neckline of his black t-shirt. The most stunning things about the man, however, were his eyes. They were a sharp, bright hazel; so attractive, that Geno had to force himself to remember to blink.

“No, it’s ok, I can see you guys are busy,” the man was saying as he looked over the menu, seemingly unaware of the small crisis Geno was currently having in his spot behind the counter.

“...Finals week,” was all Geno could think to say.

The man made a face. “Don’t remind me…I have three history papers to finish, and I’m only about a third of the way through the first one.”

Geno was so distracted, that all he had really understood was ‘three history papers’, so he said, “Oh…sucks.”

The man laughed a bit and took out his wallet. “Yeah, it does…okay, can I have a large London Fog with a shot of vanilla, please?”

Geno hoped he’d remember how to read the computer. Thankfully, it had pictures, too.

“Okay, large London Fog, 1 vanilla…” Geno said, as if on automatic. “That’s all?”

“Yes, that’s all, thank you,” the man said, handing over exact change before Geno could even read him the price.

Geno was a bit surprised, but he recovered quickly, thinking that this guy must just order the same drink a lot.

“Okay. Your name is?” Geno said, grabbing a marker and a cup.

“Sidney,” the man said.

“Ok, Sidney, it will be ready soon,” Geno said on automatic again, handing Sidney his receipt and writing Sidney’s name on the cup.

“Thanks,” Sidney said, giving him a warm smile before heading off to a table in the far corner.

For some reason, Geno couldn’t help smiling back at him, and he couldn’t seem to wipe the smile off his face before he walked back and handed the cup to Flower, who shook his head and muttered something about Romeo, or something…Geno wasn’t really paying attention.

Geno started to go back to the register, but stopped when Flower poked him.

“Geno, what’s this even say? I can’t read Russian!”

“ _Блин, я что, не_...” Geno trailed off and sighed, looking at what he’d written on the cup.

“It say ‘Sidney’,” Geno said, his ears burning. It kinda bothered him that a pretty face could so easily turn off his brain, but in his defence...it had  _been a while_.

“Okay,  _всё_. I already work two hours register. We switch now,” Geno said, snatching the cup back. “I do it so you not have to read Russian.”

Flower laughed and shook his head at his co-worker, opening the toaster and putting the warm muffin for ‘Catylin’ on a plate with some butter on the side.

“Sure...whatever you say, G,” Flower said before turning and calling out the lady’s complicated order, taking some twisted pleasure in pronouncing her name wrong. Good thing he was the manager.

\- - - _/.\\_ - - -

Geno was glad once the rush had died down. He knew they’d have another one when all the classes in Hofsteade Hall got out, but that wasn’t for another 45 minutes anyway.

He found himself nervously looking over at the table in the corner. He wasn’t that surprised to see Sidney still sitting there, staring intensely at his computer and typing away, but...it had been 10 minutes already, And Sidney hadn’t even touched his latte. It had to be cold by now...

“Hey, Geno. Geno! Geno??”

Geno sent a glare back at flower for interrupting his thoughts

“ _Ну, чё_ _?_  I hear you already! What?”

Flower raised his brows at his coworker and leaned on the counter.

“I guess he hasn’t noticed yet.”

Geno grabbed a towel and started cleaning up the espresso machine.

“...Notice what?”

“What you wrote on the lid of his cup,” Flower said non-chalantly, examining one of his fingernails.

Geno turned his back to Flower, trying to hide his face.

“I...don’t know what you’re...talk about.”

Flower laughed.

“Come on, G, I saw you write something on his lid...” said Flower. “Oh, look, he’s finally taking the lid off...”

Geno whipped his head around to look at Sidney. Sure enough, he was taking off the lid...

...without taking an eye off of his computer screen. He set the lid next to his books and took a sip of his latte without even looking at the cup.

Geno frowned.

“You know, it’s really funny...” Flower laughed, “You always go for the ones that don’t pay any attention,” he whispered at Geno.

“ _Я не так уж_ _—..._ I’m not always—...” Geno grumbled, trailing off. He waved the rag at Flower before returning to his work on the espresso machine. “ _Ну, иди-иди_ _—_ Go away, you should work, too!”

Flower smiled like he knew he’d won and grabbed a rag, going to tidy up the cream and sugar counter.

Geno frowned as he scrubbed down the espresso machine. What was wrong with him writing on the lid? Nothing! Wasn’t America supposed to be a free country? Didn’t he have a right to enjoy the scenery (and maybe try to taste it a little)?

Even so, he had never been so nervous doing it before...usually, the people he wrote lid notes to just kindly turned him down. That one pretty girl wearing the Tom and Jerry shirt...that one cute French-Canadian guy with the Penguins hockey hat...the blonde girl with those nice, tight, tiger-print jeans...they’d all said no. This time, the guy was just plain ignoring him. Geno stopped scrubbing and sighed. He guessed knew a hint when he saw one, but...for some reason, this one hurt more than the others did. Maybe because...he actually really wanted it to work this time.

He hadn’t realised he’d stopped working and started staring forlornly at a spot on the counter until he saw a marker and a napkin slide into the corner of his field of vision. He looked up to see Flower standing there in front of him.

“I think you need to try again, G. I don’t think it’s a no, I just think he hasn’t noticed yet. Besides,” he said, sliding the napkin closer. “Your sad face is depressing me.”

Geno hesitated for a moment, but finally took the top off the marker and scrawled on the napkin, “Look your lid!” Then he narrowed his eyes and thought for a moment, adding an ‘on’ between ‘look’ and ‘your’. Then he smiled and made to walk out onto the floor, but Flower stopped him.

“Wait! You need a reason to go up to him...offer him a free sample! Give him a scone or something!”

Geno nodded. Flower was right...How would it look, dropping off a napkin and nothing else at a table? Plain weird. He shook his head and grabbed a scone out of the glass case, putting it on a little plate with the napkin next to it.

He sent a little glance at Flower before he walked out onto the floor. Flower winked at him and gave a thumbs up. It was nice to know he had a little support. Even if it  _was_  coming from a guy who had once floured his favourite toque. 

Geno took a breath and approached the table in the corner.

“Excuse me, I’m sorry for interrupt you...you would like to try free sample?”

Sidney looked up at Geno, his eyes wide in surprise.

“Oh! Uh...s-sure!”

Geno smiled and set the plate in front of Sidney. He couldn’t think of anything else to say, so he just nervously said, “ _Приятного аппетита_ _[bon appétit]_ ,” and walked back to the counter a little more quickly than he probably should have.

As he reached the counter again, he looked back at Sidney, who was happily munching on the scone, but his computer screen still had his full attention.

Geno nervously leaned on the counter, and tilted his head toward the entrance, trying to make it look like he wasn’t staring at Sidney...of course, his façade didn’t last long.

Geno’s heart rate quickened and he watched with wide eyes as he saw Sidney reach for the napkin...

...but Sidney didn’t take a single look at it. He wiped his mouth with it, casually balling it up and setting it next to his empty cup without even noticing the words written there.

Geno’s heart sank and he let his head fall into his palm.

Maybe Flower was right. Maybe he did always fall for the clueless ones.

\- - - _/.\\_ - - -

The Wednesday during finals week was usually a weird time for everyone. For Geno, it was an interesting opportunity to see all different kinds of emotions.

There were the students who looked dead inside and came for coffee to stay awake during their early maths and physics finals at 7 am (one of whom asked for a large cup filled only with espresso...which, in total, came to 8 shots...Geno didn’t do this often, but he felt compelled to pray a little for this man).

Then the next wave of students were the ones who were nervous for their finals (but not as dead inside because their finals are actually held at a decent hour). This was also about the time the students with the earlier finals would come back in to get a coffee after their tests.

These students showed a multitude of different emotions. You could tell the ones who were confident in their answers because they finally looked relaxed. The students who thought they did average looked tired, but a little bit more relaxed than before. The ones who either didn’t study or had anxiety looked even more stressed than they had been before they took the test.

Geno felt for them all, he really did. After all, he’d been there himself many times before; although, taking tests in English was probably a little less nerve-wracking when it was your native language.

He was getting ready to clean up a bit after a particularly harsh rush when he heard the door open.

“Hello, welcome, how I can help you?” Geno said on automatic. He was surprised when he turned around and saw the pretty athletic guy he had tried (and miserably failed) to hit on the day before.

“Hi...uh, can I have a...large London Fog with a shot of vanilla?” He said. Then, after thinking for half-second, he added, “And uh...can you add a shot of Espresso to that, too?”

“Ok, yes, one London Smog with vanilla for you,” Geno said, smiling and putting it into the computer, secretly and deliberately not charging him for the shot of espresso.

Sidney had smiled at what Geno had called his drink, causing Geno to feel a little too pleased with himself. Riding a new wave of confidence, Geno decided to make a bit of small talk. After all, if nothing else, at least it would help with his English. 

“So uh...you have luck with your papers? Stay up all night...write them?”

Sidney looked a bit surprised that Geno remembered him.

“Uh, ye-yeah, uh...actually...I pulled an all-nighter last night finishing up my Modern Russia paper...uh...” He hesitated, smoothing down his hair. “I, uh...it’s not obvious I hope?”

“Obvious?” said Geno. “No, no...you very handsome, it’s just, you add a shot of espresso in drink, and I think, ah, he...very tired,” he said with a nervous laugh, embarrassed that he’d just called a customer handsome out loud, but secretly excited that Sidney had mentioned Russia.

“Oh, ok...yeah...yeah, that makes sense,” Sidney said, a bit of a flush blooming on his cheeks.

The two laughed a little bit while Geno finished ringing up Sidney’s order.

“Your name is Sidney, yes?”

“Yeah, that’s me,” Sidney said, nodding a bit and smiling.

“Okay, Sidney, it will be ready soon,” Geno said, taking Sidney’s card out of the machine and handing it back to him with the receipt. 

“Thanks,” Sidney said, putting away his card and going to sit down at the same table in the corner he’d sat at the previous day. 

Geno had so many questions about this Modern Russia paper, but a line was starting to form behind the counter, so Geno grabbed a cup and made sure he wrote Sidney’s name in English this time, handing it to Flower, who immediately examined the cup, turning it over.

When he didn’t find anything, he said, “What, no note this time?”

Geno shook his head. “No. This time, I try something different. Maybe he notice, maybe no.”

Flower looked curious, but there were online orders piling up, so he shrugged and set about making drinks.

\- - - _/.\\_ - - -

Geno was a bit exhausted after the lunch rush. He thought he would be used to it by now, since it was usually the most busy time of day during finals week, but for some reason, it always got to him.

Maybe it was the fact that, not only were there students coming in during that time, but also a plethora of white suburban soccer moms who didn’t understand the meaning of “we’re sorry for any inconvenience, but we only have one drink-maker on staff right now. It’ll be ready in five minutes”.

Geno had just finished wiping down the drink counter when he heard someone quietly clear their throat and say, “Excuse me?”

He turned around and was surprised to see Sidney standing there.

“Sidney, hello! How I can help you?” Geno said on automatic, walking up to the counter.

“Uh, hi, sorry to interrupt...” Sidney said, taking the receipt for his drink and the exact amount of money for one shot of espresso out of his pocket and holding it out to Geno.

“I just...I noticed you didn’t charge me for the espresso shot? So I just wanted to—”

Geno closed his eyes and shook his head, refusing to take the money.

“—pay for that...? What?” Sidney asked, giving Geno a puzzled look.

“Very simple, Sidney. You tell me you not sleep all night, write a paper about Russia, I give you free espresso shot. Gift from me.”

Sidney blinked at him, unsure what to say. His face flushed a bit and he glanced at Geno, then at the money in his hands, then looked back up at Geno.

“A gift?” He repeated.

Geno nodded, smiling at him.

“Wow, uh...” Sidney said, looking unsure what to do. “I don’t...I don’t know what to say? Uh...thanks!”

Geno smiled, also unsure what to do. He wanted to tell Sidney how beautiful he was when he blushed, but he chickened out, opting instead for a simple, “You’re welcome.”

Sid smiled at Geno again, and then looked down at his hand and the coins in it. He looked around for a place to put them, and when he located the tip jar, he dropped it all in there.

He took a look over his shoulder at Geno before he left, smiling at him when they made eye contact.

As the door clanked shut and Geno watched Sid walk away, he thought to himself with pride that no, not all of the ones he fell for were clueless.

\- - - _/.\\_ - - -

Thursdays during finals week were usually less-stressful for the students, since a lot of them had either already completed their finals or were taking the last one that day. For Geno, however, it meant an almost steady flow of students with small rushes rather than the gigantic rushes followed by periods of absolute desolation that he had gotten accustomed to.

Geno had felt pretty good about his attempts at wooing the pretty athletic historian the day before, but as hour after hour of Geno’s shift passed and he still hadn’t seen him, Geno’s confidence started to wane.

What if Sidney had realised what Geno was doing and was freaked out by his advances? If that were the case, he’d probably never see him again.

Geno was solemnly cleaning the espresso machine and thinking about his lost chances when Flower walked up next to him and leaned an arm on him.

“Cheer up, Geno, there are always other people to write lid notes to.”

“Maybe,” Geno said, shrugging Flower’s arm off his shoulder and putting the rag back in the sanitiser bucket.

He took a few orders after that, noticing that it was getting a bit dark outside. That meant that it was almost the end of his shift, and he still hadn’t seen his beautiful stranger.

He wasn’t sure what was so special about this guy in particular, but maybe it was because he had mentioned writing a paper about Russia, or because of his gorgeous eyes...and if Geno were going to be honest, his ass wasn’t bad either. In fact, it was fantastic. Geno was honestly never sure if he was happy or sad to watch Sidney leave, because Geno usually  _didn’t_ want Sidney to leave, but when he did, the view was always so nice. 

Geno was in the back about to clock out when Flower called to him.

“Hey, G, can you take one more order? I’m backed up on onlines.”

Geno stuck his head out of the back room to yell at Flower that he had already been there for 10 and a half hours and was too tired, but he stopped short when he realised who was at the counter. He blinked as if to check that what he was seeing was real, then rushed up to the register, hastily sticking his name tag back on.

“Hello, Sidney, how are you? Can I get you London Fog?”

Sidney smiled at Geno, glancing down at his name tag.

“Um, hello, um...Geno, yes, uh...one large London Fog with a shot of vanilla and a slice of blueberry cheesecake, please,” he said, glancing down at Geno’s name tag again.

“Okay, one London Fog with vanilla, one blueberry cheesecake,” Geno said, putting the order into the computer.

“That’s all?” Geno asked.

“Uh, yes, that’s all,” Sidney said, glancing down at Geno’s name tag again.

“How are you? You finish papers?” Geno asked.

Sidney smiled. “Yeah, I finally turned them all in,” he said.

“ _Ну, ты молодец_ ,” Geno said. “Feels good, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Sidney said, glancing down at Geno’s name tag again, looking like something was bothering him. 

“Um, Geno...”

“Yes?” Geno asked, probably sounding a bit too hopeful.

“Your, uh...your name tag is on upside-down.”

Geno glanced down and noticed that, yes...in his haste to help Sidney, he had, in fact, put it on upside-down.

“Ah, yes. It’s true,” Geno said, laughing nervously. “Wait, one moment please,  _щас исправлю_...”

Sidney couldn’t help laughing as Geno took it off and put it back on, taking almost theatrical care in making sure it was absolutely straight.

“Better?” Geno asked with a smile, enjoying every single sound that Sidney made as he laughed. 

“Yeah, better,” Sidney laughed, taking out his wallet and pulling out his card.

“Ah, good,” Geno said, smiling and taking Sidney’s card to swipe it.

“Are you Russian?” Sidney suddenly asked.

Geno looked up from the computer. “Yes, I am Russian.” He smiled, tearing the check and giving it to Sidney with his card.

“Oh, that’s...that’s awesome,” Sidney said, looking impressed. “Uh...do you like it here?”

“Yeah, I like here very much,” Geno said, not wanting to take his eyes off Sidney’s face. “Here...very nice people...for me, very comfortable.”

“That’s...good,” Sidney said, looking back into Geno’s eyes with a questioning look.

If it hadn’t been for the card machine beeping, Geno might have stared at Sidney forever...but the machine beeped, and he was forced to take his eyes off of Sidney so he could give his card back to him.

“Your card,” Geno said, almost feeling a bit guilty for looking as long as he did. He turned away to grab a cheesecake, scared that if he looked back into Sidney’s eyes again, he’d get lost in them. He smiled down at the cheesecake as he handed it to him. “Drink will be ready after five minutes.”

“Thank you, Geno,” Sidney said in a soft voice, walking away from the counter towards his favourite table in the corner.

Geno was so caught up in his own thoughts, he didn’t notice Sidney glance back at him before he sat down. Geno took a few dollars out of his wallet and stuffed them in the cash register before Flower could see, then turned around to walk to the back so he could clock out.

Before he could get there, however, he heard his name.

“Um, excuse me...G-geno?”

Geno looked over his shoulder at Sidney.

“Yes, how I can help you, Sidney?” Geno asked, walking back to the counter.

“You...didn’t charge me for the cheesecake.”

Geno nodded. “It’s true.”

Sidney cocked his head at Geno. “...Another gift?”

Geno nodded. He couldn’t resist looking at Sidney’s eyes. They were too pretty. “Yes.” 

Sidney opened his mouth a few times to say something, but he obviously couldn’t think of anything. 

Finally, he just said, “Why, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Geno searched his mind for a valid excuse that wasn’t as crude as _because you’re really hot and I wish you would notice me because I want to do things to you_.

“Because...you...work hard...with your papers, and I want...give you something nice?”

Sidney stood and stared at Geno for a moment, his cheeks a tad flushed.

“...You’re serious?”

Geno looked concerned, unable to tell whether Sidney was freaked out or not. “...yes?”

Sidney looked down at the counter, thinking. Then he looked back up at Geno, smiling slightly.

“Um...ok, I...um...thanks?”

“You very welcome,” Geno said, smiling back at Sidney.

Sidney searched Geno’s face for a few more moments before nodding at him and turning to walk away.

Suddenly, it occurred to Geno that Sidney had probably been expecting an entirely different answer and his eyes widened. Geno supposed maybe  _he himself_ was the clueless one.

“Uh, Sidney! Wait! Please?” Geno called after him. 

Sidney turned back to look at Geno.

“Uh...” Geno felt his face grow hot under Sid’s gaze, suddenly worried that his fragile grasp of the English language was about to fail him. “I...uh...finish work now...can please I...sit together...with you?”

A little smile spread over Sidney’s lips.

“We can...maybe, little bit talk?” Geno nervously added. “ _Познакомимся немножечко_?”

Geno waited for Sid’s answer with a nervous smile on his face, each minute of silence that passed feeling like absolute torture.

“Sure,” Sidney finally said. He didn’t look freaked out, he looked glad. That was a good sign.

“Okay, great! Uh, good! Um...wait for me please, one moment?” Geno said before rushing to the back room to clock out.

While Geno was in the back, he didn’t see Sidney smile and nod at Flower, who winked and nodded back at him.

\- - - _/.\\_ - - - YEARS LATER - - - _/.\\_ - - -

Geno smiled as he watched his husband walk into the kitchen. He couldn’t explain why he still found it so endearing to see his husband’s dark curly hair sticking out in all different directions.

“ _Доброе утро, зайчик_ _,_ ” Geno said, pressing a kiss to his temple.

Sidney made a contented noise as his husband handed him a mug full of his favourite drink.

“ _Доброе утро, дорогой_ ,” Sidney answered, pulling him back to give him a proper kiss. “How was the game last night?”

“We won! I’m so proud all our kids. They all are doing so good,” Geno said with a smile. “Especially little Syeva. You know, he even score goal!”

“That’s wonderful!” Sidney said, smiling. “I’m so glad to hear that! He’s been working so hard.” Sidney let his shoulders drop a bit. “You told him I’m sorry that I missed his first game, right?”

“Sid,  _не переживай_. He knows you are busy man,” Geno said, kissing his husband again. “ _Кстати_ , how it...uh, how did it go? With the book signing? Your arm get tired?”

Sidney smiled and shook his head. “No...I mean, I was surprised how many people liked  _A History of Soviet Hockey_ , but I didn’t really sign that many copies...it was mostly...me answering questions about Fetisov and Kasatonov, actually.”

Geno nodded. “Ah. Make sense. People like stories...with drama...” he trailed off, yawning.

Sidney laughed at him. “Still not a morning person, I see.”

Geno laughed back and shook his head. “Like I say before, you never can make out of me morning person.”

Sidney smiled at him. “No, but I probably won’t stop trying,” he said. 

“Good luck,” Geno said, laughing.

Sidney put his mug down, standing up and putting his arms around Geno. They stood like that in the kitchen for a while, silently swaying.

“ _Zhenka_ , when did you fall in love with me?” Sidney suddenly asked.

Geno looked at him. “Sidney...I like you from first time I see you.”

Sidney smiled at him, remembering that day so many years ago. They’d met in a coffee shop.

A sly smile spread across his lips.

“If it was love at first sight, why did you take so long to ask me out?”

Geno shut his eyes, remembering the first note he’d written to Sidney on the lid of a coffee cup. The one that Sidney never even saw.

 _Date  ❤️_ _Saturday @ 7?_ ️

He opened his eyes and smiled fondly at the man in his arms. 

“I’m just shy.”

 

_КОНЕЦ_

THE END


End file.
